Scotland Yard S Ghost Squad

When the Second World War ended, England was bombed-out and starving, with practically every saleable commodity rationed. It was the age of austerity and criminal opportunity. Thieves broke into warehouses, hijacked trucks and ransacked rail yards to feed the black market; others stole, recycled or forged ration coupons. Scotland Yard was 6,000 men under strength but something dramatic had to be done and it was.Four of the Yards best informed detectives were summoned to form the Special Duties Squad and were told: Go out into the underworld. Gather your informants. Do whatever is necessary to ensure that the gangs are smashed up. We will never ask you to divulge your sources of information. But remember you must succeed.They did. Divisional Detective Inspector Jack Capstick, a brilliant thief-taker and informant runner, Detective Inspector Henry Clark, who knew the south London villains as few other detectives did and in addition, possessed a punch like the kick of a mule, and Detective Sergeants Matt Brinnand and John Gosling, who topped the Flying Squad wartime arrests, both individually and collectively. In under four years they arrested 789 criminals, solved 1,506 cases and recovered stolen property valued at 250,000 or 10 million by todays standards, with the aid of their informants, undercover officers and their own, unsurpassed ability.The Special Duties Squad was a one-off. How the four officers accomplished their task is divulged in this thrilling book, using hitherto unseen official documents and conversations from people who were there.

Mingling with the denizens of the underworld, taking their lives in their hands, and unknown even to their comrades at Scotland Yard, are the members of the Ghost Squad - an extra-legal organization answerable to one man only. The first Ghost operative detailed to discover the identity of the mastermind behind the buying and selling of official secrets is himself unmasked - and killed before he can report his findings to the squad. Detective-Inspector John Slade is his successor - but can he survive as he follows a tangled trail of treachery and murder?

A history of the famed London police unit, by a former member and author who “knows how to bring his coppers to life on each page” (Joseph Wambaugh, New York Times–bestselling author of The Onion Field). Since 1919, Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad has been in the forefront of the war against crime. From patrolling London’s streets in horse-drawn wagons, it has progressed to the use of the most sophisticated surveillance and crime-fighting equipment. The Squad targeted protection gangs who infested British racecourses and greyhound tracks, and later the highly effective Ghost Squad was formed to tackle black-marketeering in the aftermath of the Second World War. As crime soared in the 1950s and ’60s the Flying Squad, or C8 Department as it was now known, became involved in the most serious cases nationwide—The Great Train Robbery, the Brink’s-Mat robbery, The Millennium Dome and Hatton Garden heists. Today the ruthless drug and people trafficking gangs that seek rich pickings in London and elsewhere are in their sights. Despite many high-profile successes, allegations of corruption have haunted the Flying Squad, and after the conviction of officers in 2001 there was a very real possibility of disbandment. Yet this most famous of police units survived—and today continues to fight and be feared by the hardest of criminals. This book draws on firsthand accounts to tell the Flying Squad’s thrilling story, and includes a foreword by John O’Connor, a former commander. “A book that true crime aficionados will want to read.” —Washington Times

Real-life stories of cops vs. criminals from a veteran of the Metropolitan Police and author praised for his “engaging style” (Joseph Wambaugh, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Harbor Nocturne). Dick Kirby, former long-serving Met officer and bestselling author, recounts the policing of the twentieth century, when uniformed officers were visibly part of the community, patrolling their beats and protecting the public’s property. Detectives detected, cultivating informants and, like their uniform counterparts, knowing the characters on their manor. What’s more, they were backed by their senior officers, who had on-the-job experience. Drawing on both celebrated and lesser known cases, Kirby describes in plain speak crime-fighting against merciless gangsters, desperate gunmen, inept kidnappers, vicious robbers, daring burglars, and ruthless blackmailers. Using his firsthand knowledge, he highlights the often-unconventional methods used to frustrate and outwit hardened criminals—and the satisfaction gained from successful operations. Praise for Dick Kirby’s previous books “A gritty series of episodes from his time in the Met—laced with black humor and humanity.” —East Anglian Daily Times “A great read with fascinating stories and amusing anecdotes.” —Suffolk Norfolk Life Magazine

In 1906 the Metropolitan Police Commissioner was asked by the Home Office to make available skilled investigators for murder inquiries nationwide as few constabularies had sufficiently skilled – or indeed, any - detectives. Thus was born the Reserve Squad, or Murder Squad, as it later became known. Despite a reluctance by some forces to call upon The Met, the Murder Squad has proved its effectiveness on countless occasions with its remit extended to British territories overseas. A particularly sensitive case was the murder of a local superintendent on St Kitts and Nevis. A former Scotland Yard detective, the author uses his contacts and experiences to get the inside track on a gruesome collection of infamous cases. Child murderers, a Peer’s butler, a King’s housekeeper, gangsters, jealous spouses and the notorious mass murderer Dr Bodkin Adams compete for space in this spine-chilling and gripping book which is testament to the Murder Squad’s skills and ingenuity - and the evil of the perpetrators. Brimming with gruesome killings, this highly readable book proves that there is no substitute for old fashioned footwork and instinct.

Four young ghosts who have banded together to prevent crimes fly to England to investigate a swindler.

From the files of Scotland Yard’s “Black Museum” (open only to police officers) come true crime stories of some of the most infamous murder cases of the 19th and 20th centuries—the Lambeth Poisoner, “baby farmer” Amelia Elizabeth Dyer, the Gentleman Vampire of Bournemouth, the Brides in the Bath Murders, the Rillington Place murders and many others. Along the way, investigators pass a number of crime-solving milestones, included the first use of fingerprint technology, the early use of photography and the first time “The Yard” enlisted the press to help hunt down a killer.

Whilst the passage of time can and has uncovered many secrets, killers could get away with their crimes in 1596 when Shakespeare penned these words and this is certainly the case in more recent times as Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire clearly demonstrate.The early chapters include cases of historic interest where killers certainly went to the grave in the knowledge they had got away with murder. Cases include suspicious deaths which left detectives in South Yorkshire baffled, but which were, it would seem, acts of callous murder which were not recognised as such due to dubious police opinions and practices. There are also cases of clear murder such as a man shot in the head during the Victorian period, whose killer was never identified.The later chapters, however, feature more recent cold cases where there is still the possibility that the wicked men or women who were responsible for such acts of inhumanity may remain within our society.Cases include a man murdered for less than 70 in a city centre multi storey car park, a teenage girl abducted, sexually assaulted and left dead on a dung hill, a young mother who entered prostitution and died at the hands of a man with more than sex on his mind, a pregnant woman who left home one day to go shopping but was found days later dead in a ditch with her throat cut and a disabled woman who was strangled in her home which was then set ablaze.For some of these cases there is the chance that someone has information which, despite the passage of decades, could lead to one or more individuals standing trial for murder. Justice can still prevail.